Biography
Tanya Ha is a leading Australian environmentalist, a best-selling author and a sustainable living advocate. She is also a media commentator on environmental issues and was recently a delegate to the Australia 2020 Summit.
Tanya Ha was born in Melbourne and spent her teen years in Adelaide, South Australia. After eighteen months studying at the University of South Australia she decided that Physiotherapy wasn’t her cup of tea and transferred to the University of Melbourne where she earned a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry), followed by a Graduate Certificate in Scientific and Technical Writing at Deakin University. She also took PR and Marketing units at night school and worked part-time as a model and voice-over artist.
The birth of her daughter (during the swot vac period of her final exams) renewed Tanya’s concern for the environment. Tanya began taking freelance science-related public relations jobs alongside raising her baby. In 1997 she took on her first project with Planet Ark - coordinating the production of a television community service announcement featuring John McEnroe, Pat Cash and Mark Philippoussis.
With Planet Ark Tanya found a job where she could combine her scientific knowledge, her passion for the environment and her interest in the media. She went on to work full time for Planet Ark; establishing a Melbourne office, developing public education projects, managing Planet Ark’s internet sites and coordinating Planet Ark’s campaigns in Victoria and South Australia.
At Planet Ark, Tanya developed on-going and new environmental campaigns; wrote much of Planet Ark’s campaign literature, on-line content and media materials; co-wrote, edited and project managed the Planet Ark Recycling Report 2000, an on-line encyclopaedia of recycling information; and represented Planet Ark in the media. She also makes guest appearances on television shows such as The Glass House, Sunrise, Mornings with Kerri-Anne, Good Morning Australia, Denise, Totally Wild, The Big Arvo and AM Adelaide to talk about the environment and the many ways in which ordinary people can help save the planet.
As a spokesperson for Planet Ark, Tanya became the organisation’s ‘feminine voice’. Her warm and friendly approach, her sharp sense of humour, her sense of practicality and her own experiences as a working mother have struck a chord with women in particular. She is one of Australia’s few female environmentalists and leads a new breed of campaigner that’s more hip than hippie.
In 2003, Tanya launched her first book Greeniology. Greeniology has been described as the ‘environment bible’ and was arguably Australia’s first localised mainstream reference for green living. Sunday Magazine’s profile of Tanya for the book’s launch described Tanya as the Nigella Lawson for the green cause. Tanya has written a Canadian edition of Greeniology, which was published by Penguin Group (Canada) in 2005. The French language edition Le Virage vert au Quotidien was published by Les Éditions Goélette in 2006. Melbourne University Press (MUP) published the expanded and updated second edition in September 2006, which has gone on to be a best-seller, with several reprints. Greeniology is also being translated into Chinese. Her second major book The Australian Green Consumer Guide was published by UNSW Press in October 2007 and the Greeniology Series of pocket-sized books (The Green Garden, Green Building and Renovating, Green Travel and Transport and The Green Office) was published by MUP in November 2007.
In 2007 Tanya starred as the eco-coach in the landmark SBS reality TV series Eco House Challenge, the expert who guides two ordinary families down the path towards sustainability. 2.4 million viewers tuned in to watch episodes of Eco House Challenge, which won the ATOM Award for Best Multi-Modal Production and a silver plaque Hugo Television Award at the Chicago Film Festival, and was a finalist in the Banksia Awards and the United Nations World Environment Day Awards.
In April 2008, Tanya was selected as a delegate to Prime Minister Rudd’s Australia 2020 Summit in the Sustainability and Climate Change stream. Tanya was also a founding supporter of Cool Change, a consumer communication initiative aimed at promoting independent environmental certification.
2009 saw Tanya return to TV screens as the host and main reporter for Warm TV, a fun and informative eco-lifestyle show that screened on WIN Tasmania. Having achieved solid ratings and rave reviews, the show and its accompanying website recently won their first awards (two Tasmanian AMI Awards). Tanya won the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards 2010 Media Award for Environmental Reporting for her work on Warm TV.
In August 2009, Tanya was an ambassador and Tour Guest for the Australian Government’s National Science Week initiative. This saw Tanya tour Australia giving talks to school groups and public lectures to promote science, scientific literacy and the importance of science as an underpinning for sustainability.
During National Science Week Tanya’s latest book Green Stuff for Kids was launched. Written for readers aged 10+, Green Stuff for Kids is an A-Z guide to what’s up with the planet and what we can do about it.
In 2010, Tanya joined the team at ABC’s respected flagship science magazine show Catalyst as a sustainability reporter. Soon after, she became the eco expert on Can We Help? answering viewers’ questions about the environment and greener living, from how double glazed windows work year-round to wind power in suburban backyards.
In addition to her television work, Tanya is now concentrating on writing, consulting, working with environmental groups and initiatives, and developing environmental behaviour change projects. She is currently in the early stages of a popular science book, and working on other concepts for radio and television. She also writes freelance feature articles and green-themed magazine columns. She has written stories and regular columns for newspapers and magazines, including G Magazine, Handyman, Woman’s Day, sunday magazine, Australian House & Garden, Fresh, Cosmopolitan, The Age, Herald Sun, Australian Good Taste, madison and Yen. She continues to support a range of environmental initiatives, is a past board member of the green group Keep Australia Beautiful and also serves on the Board of the Victorian Government environmental authority Sustainability Victoria. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. Her latest book Greeniology 2020 was published in October 2011.
